not greater than his Lord." Let them do the works which no other men do. Let the fruits of the higher life be seen to be far superior to those of a lower growth. If they do not more than others, and there is no visible distinction from them, their perfection is known only to themselves, and should be kept to themselves.

If they were really perfect they would, we apprehend, be more inclined to keep it to themselves, and leave it to others and to their works to bear witness of them. Christians generally keep their choicest experience to themselves. They have a holy of holies in which they are alone with God, and where no other foot of man or angel can tread. "To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it." Paul kept his translation to the third heavens secret for fourteen years, and would not have then made it known had it not been needful to account for the thorn in the flesh for which he had been despised by some, but which to him was an occasion for glorying. He did not even at that time profess to have been perfect, but to have needed some affliction to have been sent to prevent him from being exalted above measure.

Afflictions, we are here reminded, are not in accordance with a state of perfection. They are the result of sin, the punishment of sin in the wicked, and the chastisement for sin in the righteous. "What son is he whom the Father chasteneth not?" Then what son is he, who is without sin? In his rapture to the third heavens, Paul could not tell whether he was in the body or out of the body, but the thorn in the flesh soon told him where he was. So long as any remain in the body they are liable to all bodily suffering and to death, and to innumerable other evils of this life; but there could not be even the liability to them if they were perfectly free from sin. Take away the cause, and all its effects must cease.

We may be told it is not absolute perfection that is claimed in this life, such as we look for both of body and soul in heaven; that it is a perfection in kind, not in degree; as an infant may be perfect as an infant, but not as pertaining to the human race; or that it is a perfect conformity to all the outward requirements of the moral law; or that it is a freedom from all voluntary indisposition to love God with all the heart, and our neighbour as ourselves; or that it is an entire freedom from the consciousness of sin at any particular time, and under any particular circumstances; or that it is the perfection of being in the right state of mind, just what we ought to be in relation to the condition, whatever it may be, in which we are placed. But why call that perfection which is not perfection? To lower the requirements of either the law or the gospel for the sake of calling ourselves perfect, is to deceive both ourselves and others. It is to lower both the justice of the law and the grace of the gospel for the sake of exalting ourselves. Let it be admitted that the least sin, either in thought or desire, is a transgression of the whole law, and the claim of every one to sinless perfection in this life must cease. Let it be admitted that to be perfectly holy is to continue in all things written in the book of the law and of the gospel to do them, and the claim to be perfect by every one on this side the grave must cease. It were better to look upon ourselves as less than the least of all saints than as greater than the greatest. The more holy we are the more humble we shall be. The less we think of ourselves the more highly will others think of us. We can, therefore, assure our perfect brethren that they have only to be less perfect in their own esteem in order to be more so in the esteem of others.

19

The Dying Thief.

66

A FEW weeks ago one of our Baptist ministers preached a sermon from the man rob God?" The question was answered in the affirmative as regards some men. This was illustrated by an anecdote: A man asks another, "Are you a believer in the Christian religion? 'Oh, certainly!" "You are a member of some church, then, I suppose ?" "Member of a church! No, indeed! Why should I be a member of a church? It is quite unnecessary. The dying thief wasn't a member of a church, and he went to heaven." "But of course you have been baptized? You know the commandBeen baptized! Oh, no; that's needless. I'm as safe as the dying thief was, and he never was baptized!" "But surely, since you will not join a church or be baptized, you do something in acknowledgment of your faith? You give of your means-you help the cause in some way? y?" No, sir, I do nothing of the kind. The dying thief" "Let me remark, my friend, before you go any further, that you are on pretty intimate terms with the dying thief. You seem to derive a good deal of consolation from his career; but, mind you, there is one important difference between you and him; he was a dying thief, and you are a living one."-New Zealand Baptist.

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The Signs of the Times.

BY THOMAS SPURGEON.

WE their signs were surely not designed to be so apropos !

E cannot but approve the names by which some "publics" go;

"The Lion" does a roaring trade, until the latest hour,

And, always minding the main chance, seeks whom it may devour.
"The Bear," of course, sells Huggins' Ales, and with such fond embrace,
Its victims though stripped bare, alas! forbear to shun the place.
Well may these dens and nests of sin depict above their doors
Fierce eagles, and great elephants, grim griffins, and wild boars.
But some have had the cheek to claim sweet titles that belong
To Temperance and Righteousness, for Drunkenness and Wrong!

I've seen, to wit, "The Crystal Spring,"
," "The Fountain," and "The Well,"
"The Cascade," and "The Waterfall," "The Beehive," and "The Bell."

Nor things of earth alone do they thus wilfully misuse,

The very sun and moon and stars, they venture to abuse !

What, in the name of all that's good, have drink and drugs to do

With waterfalls, and rivulets, and sparkling drops of dew?

And Bells should ring out gladsomeness, and not drink's dismal tone;
Nor is "Beehive" appropriate where everyone's a drone.

Then, too, the sun and moon and stars in heavenly places shine.

Will men make night and day consort ?-darkness and light combine?
Misnomers all! But there is one that we must grant is fit,
"The Dew-drop Inn," I understand, means "do drop in" to it.
Alas! they do, and get their dew in rather largish drops;
And drop their cash into the till, until "the needful" stops.
O, foolish men! It says come in," your income to secure,
The dew falls due to it, and you the loss and shame endure.

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That" Dew-drop" is the Serpent's Eye; that" Inn" the adder's fang;
The signs are dark and deep designs, however high they hang.

And if you ask what timely sign, in lieu, I would allege,
I lose no time, O, brother mine, to answer

"SIGN THE PLEDGE!"

Stockwell Orphanage.

UR Magazine is issued a little too soon to include the account of subRriptions given to the Orphanage on the President's Birthday; and we could not insert the Report because the Colportage Association takes its turn this month. Therefore, by way of reminder we insert an engraving of OUR BOYS AT PLAY. Thank God they can play, and are not shut up in the infirmary. Thank God they may play, and are not thought wicked for so doing. We have had a wonderful year of health, as an institution; and for moral health the children have been equally remarkable. Few have given trouble, the general tone of the whole household has been high.

Would our friends pray frequently for the distinct conversion of our boys? We look and long for it. Many who are with us are decided; many who have gone from us into business life are useful Christians; some who were among the worst lads are now among the best of men; but we are anxious for the soul of each boy and girl. If the Lord would move some friend to pray often for our little ones, we should accept it as a token for good, and we should look for larger results. Brethren, pray for us. Sisters, join in the supplication.

Notices of Books.

The Quiver an Illustrated Magazine for Sunday and General Reading. Monthly, 6d. Cassell and Company. ESTABLISHED more than twenty years ago by the late John Cassell, The Quiver continues to pursue its useful course. Being bright throughout, both in its articles and engravings, the magazine appears to have steadily grown in public favour since the day of its birth. We acknowledge with thanks "A Real Bit of Sunshine," which, in the April part, refers to the Stockwell Orphanage. We are glad that the

author found "This institution

little like an institution as possible.”

as

Communion Memories. By J. R.

MACDUFF, D.D. James Nisbet and Co. The Table of the Lord. By the late

CAROLINE FRY. Whiting and Co.

Two books of lively interest on the same topic, prospected from slightly different points of view: neither of them controversial, both of them evangelical; the one by a Presbyterian minister of repute, the other by a pious lady attached in her lifetime to the Established Church. The former tenderly recalling hallowed hours, sparsely scattered among

long laborious years; the latter solemnly addressing the sanctified conscience. The infrequency of the celebration of the Lord's Supper in Scotland has thrown an artificial halo around the annual observance, or the two festivals of the year -summer and winter communion in the rural districts. Still our author favours the" often" observance of our Saviour's "This do," as alike Scriptural and desirable. In England the too common habit of turning away from the Lord's table, where opportunities are frequent, grieved the heart of a godly woman who had learned to preach right powerfully with her pen.

Meditations and prayers furnish an agreeable supplement to these volumes -agreeable because in either instance they are obviously genuine. They are not formal prescriptions for imaginary patients; rather we can trace in them the bubbling up of devout emotions at times when the soul has been nearest to heaven. For our own part, infirmity of the flesh, never indisposition of the mind, is the only apology we ever attempt to offer for omitting from the exercises of the Lord's-day an observance of the Eucharist as a sacred privilege and a pure delight.